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Long Island
Long Island is an island state of Georgeland. So named for its long but narrow shape, the island has a land area of 215,034 sq. km, making it about the size of Guyana or the U.S. state of Idaho. The island has a population of 989,424 (2002 census). The capital is Dannyburg. Geography Long Island is mostly flat, with its highest point, Mount Charlotte, rising to a level of 1,492 m. The hilliest part of the island is its eastern shore, which also contains a long stretch of cliff. There are 25 lakes on the island; the largest, Lake Cole, has a surface area of 9,234 km. The main river on the island is the Tax, whichb flows through the capital of Dannyburg. Long Island is Georgeland's second-smallest state by area and population (after Delmago Island). Climate Long Island is temperate, and recieves an average annual rainfall of 968 mm. The climate is maritime, and strong winds are common, particularly in the coastal areas. Summer lasts from December to February, with an average sea level temperature of 24°C. In winter, which generally lasts June-August, the average sea level temperature is 10°C. The highest temperature ever recorded on the island was 44.4°C in Dannyburg in 1946. The lowest recorded temperature is -15°C, recorded in Gaddesley in 1906. In summer and early spring, thunderstorms are common in Long Island. It is rare, but not unheard of, for snow to fall at the higher altitudes. Government and politics Like all states, Long Island has a Governor; the Governor is elected but almost entirely a ceremonial position. The current Governor is Peter Crouch. Governors are not permitted to contest elections as partisan candidates. meets in the Arkwright Building in Dannyburg]] The state legislature has 43 members, which from 2005 have been elected with a Mixed Member Proportional electoral system. The state Chief Minister heads the government - this is presently Victoria Englehart of the Liberal Democratic Party. The state has a Cabinet which forms the executive government. The state's government is dominated by the Liberal Democratic Party of the United Islands, which holds a majority of its Georgeland House of Commons seats and close to half of the seats in the Legislature of Long Island. In the past, the Conservatives had been the dominant party. Shifting demographics have altered the political dynamic of the state in recent years, to the point where it is considered a liberal, socially progressive state of Georgeland. The state's judical system is overseen by a series of state and local judges. The state Governor appoints all judges with the advice of the government. The Long Island Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority, headed by the Chief Justice of Long Island. Economy Long Island's economy is largely agrarian, and it is Georgeland's largest primary producer. Crops and livestock are farmed in roughly equal proportions. The island produces beef, lamb and poultry products for domestic and international export, as well as many varieties of fruit and vegetables for mostly domestic consumption. Long Island also has a strong fishing industry. Since the 1950s, there has also been an active mining sector, with rich mineral deposits (mostly coal, quartz and some gold) located on the north-east part of the island. ]] History The first documented European charting of Long Island was by English navigator John Cox in 1769, on the second British voyage to Georgeland. Cox's voyage mapped the coastline of the island and sent scouting parties to find possible colonisation sites. A French expedition, led by Jean-Jacques Villi, also sent scouting parties to the island. Cox named the island Charlotte Island, in honour of the daughter of King George III, Charlotte, the Princess Royal. The first settlement was established c. 1776 at Harrow, from which settlement spread out over the island. In 1800, Irish explorer and botanist Richard Danny began the first large-scale colonisation movements by establishing a western coast settlement, then called New Dublin, near modern-day Dannyburg. The New Dublin settlement flourished until 1823, when it was severely damaged in an earthquake. Rather than rebuild, the New Dublin settlers re-settled elsewhere. By 1850, Long Island was a thriving agricultural colony, and formed an integral part of the Colony of Georgeland, consisting of all five islands in the archipelago. Despite central administration being conducted in Weston, Long Island had a sub-colonial administrator, located in Harrow. In 1856, the New Dublin colony was re-established by settlers from Capitalia and Mainland and re-named Dannyburg in honour of the original settler, Richard Danny. Dannyburg attracted colonists from elsewhere and by 1870 had become the island's principal settlement. Charlotte Island was officially renamed Long Island in 1882. The name change was prompted by more nationalistic forces and Irish republicans. A move to re-establish the original name lasted well into the 20th century. In 1891, Long Island was established as a state of the newly independent dominion of Georgeland. Long Island was Georgeland's smallest state at the time of independence, and became second-smallest only when Delmago Island was granted statehood in 1958. It remains the least-densely-populated of Georgeland's original states. Long Island elected its first autonomous government in 1891, and began a long association with conservatism. A mostly agrarian economy, Long Island has been dominated by conservative and agrarian movements for much of its political history. Between 1891 and 1986, the Conservative Party of Georgeland held government in Long Island for 72 out of 95 years. John Kite became the first Chief Minister of Long Island after the 1891 election, and John Wyndham, Viscount Wyndham was appointed as the state's first Governor. The island remained a rural bastion for most of the 20th century, and by 1930 was filling almost a third of Georgeland's rural export market. Long Islanders voted heavily against independence from the UK in 1929; despite this, the referendum succeeded. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Long Island managed to stay relatively prosperous due to the low level of factory and industrial work. Indeed, many workers from out-of-state came to the island to work on the farms during that prolonged economic struggle. By the outbreak of World War II, Long Island's GDP had become the largest in Georgeland. During the war, when most of its young workers joined the armed services, Long Island had an economic slump from which recovery was long and difficult. Long Island's demographics shifted slowly over the post-war period, helped in part by an influx of migrants, especially from continental Europe. By the mid-1980s, the cultural homogenity of Long Island had all but disappeared, prompting Chief Minister Andrew Lloyd to declare the state to be "Georgeland's greatest melting-pot." In 1986, Lloyd's Conservatives were defeated by the United Islands Labour Party under Ted Bunton, thus ending the Conservative dominance of state politics. In the years since, the Conservatives have held office in Long Island only once, from 1990-1994. With progressive politics dominant, successive Labour and Liberal/Liberal Democratic governments established a series of social reforms. The longest-serving of these leaders was Bob Patterson, who served as Chief Minister from 1994-2003. In 2003, Patterson was indicted for serious corruption charges, relating to bribery and improperly using his position to hire his mistress. Patterson was forced to resign and it was widely believed the Conservatives would profit electorally from the scandal. Thomas Nathan became the new Chief Minister and won the 2003 election. Nathan then introduced a form of proportional representation for the state legislature. Nathan's government was re-elected in 2005. The following year, Nathan announced his retirement and Victoria Englehart was elected as the state's first woman Chief Minister. In 2007, former Governor Sandra Wood, who had served as the state's chief executive from 1990 to 2004, was elected as an Independent to the United Islands Senate. In 2017, the long-term centre-left state government was replaced with a Conservative administration led by Fraser McCall, but this government ran into financial difficulties and an energy crisis. At a snap election in early 2019, the populist People's Party of Long Island formed a coalition government with the state Green Party, Reform and Georgeland Alliance. Cities and towns is a township in the state's north-west]] The state's capital and overwhelmingly largest city is Dannyburg (pop. 461,657), which serves as the island's major industrial and commercial centre. Roughly fifty per-cent of the state's population live in Dannyburg and the surrounding satellite cities, the highest proportion of any Georgeland city apart from Georgetown. Other cities in Long Island include Catford, Beale and Burnsleigh, all located in the state's rural western region. Demographics Long Island's largest ethnic group is Scots-Irish, who make up 24.5% of the island's population. People of English descent are the next-highest grouping, with 21.5%. There are significant numbers of Dutch (8.5%), Italian (6.4%), Greek (4.3%) and German (3.5%)-identifying residents as well. 2.6% of Long Islanders are of African descent, and 5.6% are of Asian heritage, mostly Chinese and Indian. Only 61% of Long Islanders identified as "Christian" in the 2002 census. Of those, 59% were Protestant and 31% identified as Roman Catholic. 7% of the island's population identified as Jewish, giving the state the country's largest Jewish population. Culture Long Island's culture is a blend of rural and urban subcultures. As half of the state's population reside in the large city of Dannyburg and the remainder in rural areas, the predominant culture of the state is divided between the two. Despite this, Long Island's reputation as an agrarian centre and primary producer is strong, and the island has a very deep-seated rural culture, even in Dannyburg. A sense of community is a dominant trait among many Long Islanders and some rural communities tend towards an insular outlook towards the world at-large. Education Education is compulsory for all children until age 16. The vast majority of students, however, complete a Year 12 Certificate upon graduation from secondary school. Education is primarily the responsibility of the state government but increasingly the federal government has exercised more influence over the education system, especially regarding funding of non-government schools. Long Island is home to three tertiary institutions: the University of Long Island (est. 1904), the University of Dannyburg (est. 1942) and the Long Island Catholic University (est. 1985). All three are located primarily in Dannyburg, though ULI also has a small campus in Catford. Sport As with the rest of Georgeland, soccer remains the state's most popular sport. Dannyburg's Primary Division side, Dannyburg FC, is the only Primary Division team and attracts the bulk of state support, though Catford United, a Secondary Division team, has a large support base in the West. There is a state-wide amateur league, the Long Island Football League, with 28 amateur teams which also remains popular. Long Island maintains a cricket team for national competition. Cricket has traditionally been a fairly weak sport in Long Island and it is rare for the state team to achieve distinction in sub-national test matches. However, the current captain of Georgeland's national cricket team, Simon Talbot, is a born-and-bred Long Islander. Media Long Island is serviced by all six national television networks; the transmission of all six occurs in Dannyburg. GBC Television has a local studio in Catford which provides a limited amount of regional programming, as does GTV. GBC Radio maintains regional broadcasting centres as well - all other radio services are broadcast solely from Dannyburg. Long Island's major metropolitan daily newspaper is the Dannyburg Chronicle, with a circulation of 128,000 in 2007. Other regional centres have their own locally produced newspapers. Tourism ]] Dannyburg attracts the bulk of tourism to Long Island, though the west of the island is a popular destination for tourists seeking tranquil surroundings. Indeed, there are more small accomodation facilities (such as bed-and-breakfasts) per capita on Long Island than any other state. Popular tourist destinations outside Dannyburg include Point Carlisle, a picturesque colonial-era town which remains largely unmodernised (though the town now has power and internet access) and the Haslem Valley region, consisting largely of rainforest. The entire Haslem Valley is now designated as a national heritage site and is the country's leading ecotourism resort. Category:Georgeland